Juxtaposition
by JTrevizo
Summary: NOW COMPLETE. A second makes all the difference when a single shot is fired... What if Castle had gotten Beckett out of the line of fire, only to put himself into it? Episode 3x24 finale spoilers. AU for the last scene. Caskett
1. A single shot

May 21, 2011

From: J. Trevizo

Subject: New story - Juxtaposition

Rating: T

Spoiler: Episode 3x24 finale spoilers. AU for the last scene.

Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Relationship: Caskett fic

Summary: A second makes all the difference when a single shot is fired.

Author's note: This has been rattling in my head for nearly a week. Since I've only seen two takes on the last few minutes of the finale like this, I felt there might still be room for one more fanfic. To my other fandom readers – my apologies; I can only write what the muses offer.

-x-

Rick Castle had never been asked to be a pallbearer, much less for a police funeral. The last funeral he'd been to was for Cannell, and he'd only stood with the other mourners, not been asked to participate. In fact was he had little idea of what he needed to do, and had relied on Esposito to fill him in on the etiquette and routine. So when he stood by the hearse at the cemetery, he waited his turn to reach down and grasp the shiny brass hand rails situated beneath the American flag draped across the casket and turned to follow the men in front of him.

Five uniformed officers and a single civilian dressed in black moved in lock step down the path to the grave site. Castle kept his head down most of the way, his sunglasses cutting the glare of the light but not the sorrowful looks that directed towards the pallbearer's burden. As one they arrived at the grave and carefully lowered their burden. While Castle, Ryan, Beckett and Esposito and moved away, two other officers folded the flag to present to Montgomery's wife and children. He saw Jim Beckett in the chairs behind the family many rows back, his mother and Alexis not too far from him. Lanie Parrish sat beside his mother and waited for Esposito to join her, Ryan not far behind him.

But Castle wasn't moving to join his own family, or the one he'd ended up being adopted into. He moved to stand aside, less than ten feet away from where Beckett now stood before the podium to give her eulogy. How exactly that had happened, considering how the Captain had so many years and friends in the force he wasn't sure, but he knew Beckett needed to express her feelings regarding the man she'd considered a second father.

A father she never knew had been keeping tabs on her, keeping her from finding out his secrets, and in the process, keeping her from becoming a target of assassination.

Which was now no longer the case.

Castle stood silently, listening to Becket begin, thoughts of seeing the Captain for those last moments before his death replaying in his head, along with Beckett's screams for him to let her go as he dragged her from the hangar.

"Roy Montgomery taught me what it meant to be a cop. He taught me we are bound by our choices. But we are more than our mistakes. Captain Montgomery once said to me that for us there is no victory, there are only battles. And in the end the best that you can hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you."

As she paused after saying those words, she turned and looked at him, her eyes expressing a million emotions. But the fact that she was looking at him after talking about someone making a stand with them… he had no doubt that she was acknowledging the fact that he'd made that commitment to her. He would be that someone who would stand by her when she chose to make her stand. And the fact that she had acknowledged that, given him that charged look made him believe for one brief moment that maybe, just maybe something good might come out of this mess. Maybe things could change…

"Our Captain would want us to carry on the fight…"

A glint of bright light, like a mirror caught his attention and his eyes quickly tried to focus on what exactly it was. Somewhere in the rows of white marble tombstones half a football field away, something flashed behind one of them.

"Even if there is one…"

Castle tuned out her next words, focused on the flash again. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe too many years of being a writer, researching things like assassinations, high powered rifles, scopes and the like, but his blood suddenly went cold as the worst scenario he could think of popped into his head. He looked toward Beckett and realized the line of sight was perfect. It was an open area… no skulking around, no finesse – it was just a simple, straightforward way to kill someone.

Then his mind was no longer thinking, and he was throwing himself towards her…

"Kate!"

He was already moving as the words left his mouth, his right arm leading the way, intent on pushing or shielding her… he didn't much care which one at the moment. Before he knew it, he was tackling her, his body directly between her and the shooter, his right arm wrapping around her as he slammed into her body. Her eyes looked at him with confusion as the single crack of a gunshot reverberated through the quiet of the cemetery.

He felt the sudden, fiery pain pierce his back and he was falling, his limbs already feeling like lead as agony filled his chest. Beckett crashed into the ground, her body landing on the grass and he collapsed on top of her, face down onto the ground. Her eyes widened as everything began to coalesce in her head – the shove, the sound… a gunshot…

Around them, people were screaming and ducking for cover. Beckett looked up at Castle, her face suddenly full of fear that she didn't understand… she needed to see, be sure that he…

She pushed up with all her strength and swiftly rolled them over, laying Castle onto the soft green grass. Knelling over him she pulled back her hands and found them drenched in dark red blood. Castle's blood. He looked up at her, his blue eyes wide as reality and astonishment began to set in.

"Rick… shhh," Beckett started as she saw him struggle.

Her hands moved to his body, quickly searching to locate the wound that had stained her hands crimson. She found it quickly; the blood was hidden in the dark shirt and jacket on his right side, his chest sticky with the liquid.

"Rick, please… stay with me Rick. Don't leave me. Please. Stay with me, okay?" she breathed, fear and concern warring within her.

Beckett pressed one hand against the wound, the other curled under his head, pulling it up slightly to force him to focus on her. He had to be going into shock as his eyes began to glaze over even as she could see him fighting to stay awake… stay with her as she was demanding he do.

Staring at his eyes, the sudden jolt of understanding that he'd taken a bullet meant for her struck her. He'd done everything in his power to force her to back off of her mother's murder, afraid it would get her killed. Had spoken truths that she had fought vehemently to deny about how she had hidden in empty relationships so she didn't have to acknowledge that she loved him. He'd been there for her time and again, asking for so little in return. And she knew down deep he was waiting for her to choose him…

Now, as she watched him struggle to stay with her, the naked emotions in his eyes while his heart pumped his life's blood through her fingers she knew the moment was here; she had to tell him. She couldn't not tell him now…

"Rick, I love you… I love you Rick," she whispered urgently.

His eyes seemed to catch hers and for a moment she thought she saw the start of a grin even as a tear that had welled in his eye slipped lose and slid down his cheek. Then she felt his body begin to sag, his head lolling to the side as his eyes slowly drifted closed.

"Rick!"

There was another burst of movement and noise but she couldn't tear her eyes from Rick's face.

"Kate!"

The sound of her name jarred Beckett into turning, finding Lanie rushing her way; with her friend's arrival beside her she finally registered the activity around her. Officers were rushing about, some keeping guard on the civilians at the grave side; others were swiftly moving out to hunt down the shooter. An officer, someone whose voice she didn't recognize was on the radio calling for a bus, stating man down.

Lanie quickly eased Kate's hand away and then pulled Castle's jacket away and ripped the button down shirt open as well, exposing the exit wound from a gunshot in his upper right chest. She swore as it oozed blood at an incredible rate and grabbed her own jacket off her body to press to the wound.

"How bad is it?" asked Beckett nervously, her voice quavering.

"I won't lie to you Kate, it's bad," Lanie stated seriously, looking from Castle to her friend. "We need him at a hospital, like now."

Beckett grabbed hold of Castle's hand, needing to feel his hand in hers. She felt torn in two; she desperately wanted to be at Rick's side, hold onto him until she knew he would live, yet she felt the underpinning anger she had for the man who had sent Lockwood to kill the Captain, and now had tried to kill her building inside her, threatening to overwhelm her. She had vowed she would get them before when it had just been her mother that had been the core of the conspiracy, but when Montgomery had made his stand she'd redoubled her desire for justice.

But looking down at Rick's slack face; this amazing, childlike, honorable, funny, loyal man that had chosen to stand with her, she felt that desire for justice begin to twist into one for vengeance.

Sirens filled the air, breaking her train of thought and before she knew it paramedics were jumping from an ambulance and rushing to their spot on the lawn.

"What do we have?" asked the first as he and his partner moved to Castle's prone body.

"Caucasian make, mid thirties, GSW to right chest, probable lung collapse and internal bleeding," Lanie rattled off and the men quickly sprang into action, working to puncture the right lung of the writer and re-inflate it as well as pack the wounds and intubate him, forcing much needed air into his chest and one working lung.

"We need to move him," one of the paramedics stated, his tone anxious and clipped.

"Okay, Kate, move back and let them take Castle to the ambulance," Lanie said, reaching over and gently pulling Beckett's hand from Caste's.

"But…"

"We need to move him officer!" barked the other medic, knowing time was not on their side.

The second Beckett's hand was free of Castle the two medics had him on the gurney and were rushing to the waiting ambulance.

"Lanie… can you go with them? Make sure…" Beckett said, her eyes being pulled from Rick's body on the gurney to where she saw Ryan and Esposito coordinating the officers at the site into search parties and protective details.

She needed to know they had the bastard that had shot Rick. And if not… she was going to hunt him down…

"Sure… you don't want to ride with him?"

"I… Yes, but I need to know what's going on here… I'll get there soon…"

Lanie looked at her friend with a frightened gaze. Rick was dying and Kate was… throwing herself into looking for the guy who shot him. It was worrisome to say the least.

"Okay. I'm sure that it will be Mt. Sinai hospital we're going to. You can make sure Alexis and Martha get there."

At the names of Rick's mother and daughter, Beckett paled, the blood rushing from her face. She wasn't alone in her fear – she knew that both of them must be out of their mind with worry.

"I didn't… Lanie, hurry and go with the ambulance. Martha, Alexis and I will get a patrol office to drive us to the hospital. Ryan and Esposito can check in with me as soon as they can about the shooter. It's Castle… they'll be thorough…"

Lanie nodded and rushed to climb into the back of the ambulance, the doors swinging shut behind her as the vehicle sped out of the cemetery, lights and sirens going.

Beckett slowly stood up, her head and heart filled with conflicting emotions. All she knew was that if Rick died… then she'd make every single one of them responsible for this, for all of it burn before she was done.

End chapter 1


	2. Twice the pain

May 22, 2011

All previous warnings, disclaimers and ratings still apply.

Author's note: Okay – wow. This fic has been up less than 12 hours at the time I start this and there's 45 e-mails in my mailbox. A LOT of story alerts, a lot less reviews. But still, THANK YOU for the warm welcome. Here's the next chapter.

-x-

Chapter 2

Beckett swiftly moved to where several uniformed officers were sheltering Martha and Alexis, the Captain's family and her own father among the other civilians taking refuge from the unknown gunman.

"I have this," Beckett told the officer and moved to Martha and Alexis, the fright in their eyes and faces obvious. "Martha, Alexis, I…"

"Is he alive Detective?" Martha asked as a fresh round of tears flooded Alexis' eyes and streamed down her face, her hands holding her grandmother's tightly.

"Yes. Lanie's with them and they're on their way to Mt. Sinai. One of the officers can take us over there, run the lights if we need to."

Martha nodded, her arms holding Alexis tightly as Beckett motioned to one of the officers surrounding the area.

"Escort them to a patrol car and take them to Mt. Sinai – emergency room. I'll be right behind you… wait for me," she stated matter of factly.

As the officer ushered Castle's family to a squad car, Beckett looked around, hoping to catch sight of Ryan or Esposito. She finally located Javier and rushed to him, catching his eye as she advanced.

"Do you have anything?"

"Not yet. We're still canvassing and a crime scene team has been called in. How's Castle?"

"Not good. I sent Lanie with him," she replied, her throat tightening as she verbalized the reality of Rick's precarious position. "I'm gonna go with Alexis and Martha to the hospital. You'll keep me informed?"

Esposito nodded, acknowledging his task and her next move. But as he watched her hurry away, he found himself worried once again that on top of losing the Captain, if she lost Castle too, there wouldn't be any more reason for her to try to do this by the book. After she'd run off to LA to locate Royce's murderer, against Montgomery's express orders, he had no doubt that she'd do worse if Castle bought the farm.

Once Beckett was in the squad car, the officer threw on the lights and sirens and headed towards the hospital at law breaking speeds. From the front seat Beckett watched the traffic part for them as the officer weaved his way through the cars, busses, cabs and trucks, headed for the best and closest surgical hospital in the area. She found herself hoping against hope that they were as good as she knew they were, because she couldn't afford to lose Rick now.

In what seemed long hours yet was closer to minutes the patrol car stopped at the entryway for the emergency room and Beckett rushed inside the lobby, Alexis and Martha following in her wake. She was unclear where Rick was and zeroed in on the information station where the nurse sat to check in new patients.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett. This is Richard Castle's family. He was just brought in recently with a gunshot wound. Can you tell us where he is… how he is?"

"I'll have to check Detective… give me a few minutes…"

At the sound of Kate's voice, there was movement at one of the ER room doors and Lanie quickly came out, now wearing a set of blue scrubs and caught Beckett's hand in hers, ignoring the bloody white dress glove that the detective was still wearing.

"They're taking him to surgery now," Lanie told her, her eyes showing a deep weariness that spoke volumes to her friend.

"How is he? Really?" Kate asked, anxiety at Rick's condition spiking once again at the word surgery and the look on Lanie's face

"The bullet cut through his back, shattered his scapula and went through his right lung before it exited."

"Oh my god…" whispered Beckett, a hand flying to cover her mouth as her heart leapt in her throat and her knees threatened to buckle; the dimming horror on her face at the devastating injuries Rick had suffered on her behalf evident to her friend.

"Detective…" began Martha, and Kate turned around slowly, afraid of the sight that would meet her when she met the older woman's eyes. The recriminations…

Beckett looked at Martha, watching how the older woman held her granddaughter close, providing her whatever support and protection she could from the news Lanie had bestowed on them. As it was, she heard the soft sobs coming from the teen and watched new tears streak Martha's face. Yet there was no anger focused towards her, only sympathy and regret.

"He's a fighter… he won't give up," Martha stated simply, as if somehow Beckett needed to hear it from her. "I don't think anything could keep him from you if he has any say in it."

Kate's face flushed even as her mouth fell partially open. She'd shoved him away so many times, fought with him, and degraded his usefulness to the department… to her. Yet standing there, realizing that he could have left at any time, how Esposito had reminder her Rick really didn't need to do any more shadowing of her for his books, how the Captain had kept Castle around because he was 'good' for her… She had even asked him herself, point blank why he kept coming back…

And the pause before he had launched into his 'explanation'; how he'd looked at her, how he'd swallowed hard before her had told her everything she had needed to know but he'd never said.

He loved her.

Closing her eyes tightly she fought the flood of tears that simple thought prompted. And now he was fighting for his life, because he loved her.

"There's nothing we can do for him right now but hope, pray and wait," Lanie said, reaching over and tightening her grip on her friend's shoulder, prompting her friend to open her eyes and look at her.

Beckett nodded and suddenly realized that a nurse had arrived and was now offering to escort them towards the surgical waiting room. Lanie joined them for the walk to another part of the floor where they would settle in for the long wait. Once there, Alexis and Martha sat together, their hands clasped together, worry lining their features. Lanie moved to pour two cups of coffee from the pot brewing in the room before she turned to see Beckett standing with her hands braced against the wall, her head lowered between them. Quickly the ME moved to her friend, offering her the coffee which Beckett ignored.

"You hanging in there girlfriend?" she asked lightly.

"He can't die Lanie," she said carefully, keeping her voice low so Martha and Alexis didn't hear. "I don't know what I'd do…"

Beckett found herself being overwhelmed by her emotions. Her eyes began to burn, tears forming but not falling; they blurred her vision and made her swallow convulsively, as if trying to force down the bile that was threatening to force its way up her throat.

The emotional storm of admitting that she didn't know how she'd handle losing Rick threatened to overwhelm her, yet she couldn't let herself fall apart when she needed to be strong for Martha and Alexis and she needed news on what Esposito and Ryan had found at the cemetery.

So instead she shoved it back, used every trick Montgomery had taught her about being a detective – detach yourself from the situation; focus on the facts of the crime. Pushing back from the wall she reached up and scrubbed her face with her hands, releasing a long breath. When she looked up and met Lanie's eyes, she was back in control. And her goal, besides wanting Rick alive and well was to make the bastards pay that had done this to him, to Montgomery, her mother…

"I need to go call Esposito… find out what's going on," she said suddenly, making Lanie's eyes widen and Martha's head rise up.

"What about Castle? You're not going to wait?" Lanie asked, stunned.

"It will only take a few minutes… I'll be right back. I need to know…"

Realization dawned on Lanie's face as well as Martha's. Beckett was doing everything she could to not lose it, and rather than wait with Alexis and Martha for news, she was going to take action; be the person in charge rather than be a victim of the situation. Nodding, Lanie watched as Beckett pulled off her dress gloves and shoved them in a pocket before taking the cup of coffee and heading out into the hall. With a sad smile, Lanie looked back to where Alexis and Martha were now both watching the door where Beckett had just fled through and moved to sit with them.

In the hallway, Beckett took a long gulp of the lukewarm coffee before zeroing in of the nurse's station. She headed towards it, her focus on convincing the nurse to let her use the phone.

"I'm Detective Beckett, 12th precinct. I need to call into my team at a crime scene. Can I use this phone for five minutes?" she said, her hand halfway towards the phone on the other side of the counter.

"Of course detective…"

Seconds later she had dialed Esposito's cell number and was waiting out the first ring before the line picked up.

"Esposito."

"Javier, it's me," she said simply, crisply. "What do you have?"

"Beckett? Aren't you at the hospital waiting on news of Castle?" he asked, surprised.

"He's in surgery. We won't know anything for a while. In the meantime I need to know you have something. Casings, shoe prints, a description, a pate number… something we can run this guy down with."

"He didn't leave much, but what we do have sounds a lot like Lockwood. Since we know it's not him, its not that far out to consider his boss hired from the same pool."

"Then we need to start looking at Lockwood's associates who aren't in the morgue."

"Already on it. Ryan and I will swing by the hospital and check on you guys. If you have word before then…"

"I'll call. Thanks."

With that she set the receiver down with a deep sigh. She knew that neither Ryan nor Esposito wanted to be still out there. Castle was their friend, their partner too. But they knew no one else would want to find this guy like they did. Still, if they weren't out there, she couldn't stay here…

"Kate!"

Beckett looked up at the sound of the familiar male voice and the sight of the man coming towards her threatened to break the wall of control she was tenuously holding onto. Dr. Josh Davidson was hurrying down the corridor from the OR, looking at the woman he'd heard was in the hospital from what he'd heard from several nurses about the shooting at Captain Montgomery's funeral. He was surging towards her at the nurse's station before she knew what was happening.

"Josh?" she said, stunned at his sudden appearance.

"Are you okay? I heard…" he said, his hands on her, assessing her and assuring himself that she was alright.

She felt her heart twisting in regret and dismay as this wonderful man whom she knew loved her checked that she was uninjured, but he didn't realize that the wounds she had were in her heart and soul. He'd always thought that he'd had a fair shot at making a life with her; he had no clue that she had been using as a shield against Castle all this time. She swallowed hard and forced herself to tell him the painful truth.

"It's Rick," she said as she moved to catch his hands in hers, ignoring the questioning look on his face at her words. "Castle. He was shot. He saved my life and… Josh, I need you to do something for me…"

"Anything. What?"

"I need to make sure he lives. I need to you save him."

He looked at her now perplexed, his face gaping but his eyes blazing with emotion.

"Kate, I'm sure he has the best surgeons in the hospital… he doesn't need me in there trying to pull rank and disrupting things…" he demurred, feeling that he needed to be with Kate rather than doing surgery on Castle.

"Okay then," she vacillated, then pushed with closer to the truth with her revised request. "I need you to go in there and make sure they're doing everything they can then. I… I… he can't die Josh… I can't let him…"

The way her voice cracked on the last word, and the way she was looking at him as if the world was falling apart made him stagger back a step. He'd always worried that Castle was too close to her, that there was more to the friendship the writer had with Kate. But now…

"You love him…" he breathed, awe tingeing his tone.

She closed her eyes and dropped her head. Somewhere in her head she had always known this moment would be painful yet she'd hoped that when she ended things with Josh it would be an amicable parting. She'd never imagined that it would be on the heels of the pain of watching Rick bleed out before her eyes. Gathering her strength, she raised her head and looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the steel in her resolve at the same time they showed love and remorse.

"Yes."

This time it was Josh's head that lowered, and he struggled not to curse as his hands tightened around hers. He wanted to fight, to tell her no, that he wasn't going to help Castle or lose her. But the look in her eyes said she was already gone. And if he denied helping Castle, he'd only look petty. If he was going to lose to the mystery writer, he was at least going to do so against a living being rather than a ghost.

"Alright, I'll see if I can scrub in. And if need be, I'll step in to make sure he makes it," he said tightly as he lifted his head up to catch her eyes.

"Thank you," she said tearfully, her voice sounding rough with unshed tears as she squeezed his hands, "and, I'm sorry."

"So am I."

With that he let go of her hands and turned around headed for the OR to locate Castle's surgery and keep his vow to Kate. As Beckett watched him go she felt her heart ache even further as she mourned not only how she'd ended up dissolving her relationship with Josh but struggled with the continuing fear of losing the man she loved.

End Chapter 2


	3. Third time's the charm

May 24, 2011

All previous warnings, disclaimers and ratings still apply.

Author's note: My continued thanks to all you reviewers and readers out there. I tried to reply to everyone who reviewed individually when I could but a special thanks to Anonymous and Zanna1990 for their insightful reviews. Oh, and Psycho_chick32, whom all of you have to thank for this story. I've mapped this out to 4 chapters (sort of like a double sized episode), so we're 3/4ths of the way done now. Here's the next chapter.

-x-

Chapter 3

Beckett let herself lean heavily against the nurse's station briefly as she watched Josh disappear towards the surgical ward. Even though she didn't love him, he was a good guy; she trusted him to honor her request. And by asking him to check on Castle… to make sure he was going to be okay, it gave her a way to do something to help Castle, and she felt a little of the anxiety and fear ease. That small break in the overwhelming weight of her emotions was enough to give her a small breather and try to get some perspective on the situation.

She pushed herself away from the counter and walked along the corridor, passing nurses, doctors and staff going about their business but not really seeing them. Right now the only suspect they had in the shooting was the actual gunman, and from what Esposito had said, he'd been a pro; which pointed back to the head of the conspiracy that obviously was still gunning for her. Yet they still had no idea who the man was or how to find him.

Running a tired hand through her hair she recalled the last time she'd felt so helpless during a situation involving someone she cared about, and how it had been Castle that had been there for her. This time, she was alone while Rick fought for his life in an operating room yards away.

Memories of Mike Royce's recent murder began to inundate her as she recalled how Castle had gone above and beyond for her. When she'd defended herself to the Captain as 'committed' when he'd claimed she was 'too close' to it, torn up and emotional, Castle had been the one to see what she needed and had gone to the proverbial wall with her.

Now here she was again, way too close to Montgomery's murder and hopefully only Castle's attempted murder and it was left up to her to get them justice… or vengeance as the situation warranted. Without Rick or the Captain there to try and reason her back, she didn't know how she'd be able to stay within the law in her quest to hunt the men responsible down if both of them were gone from her life.

God knew she'd been known to do reckless things when faced with personal, emotional cases. And just the idea of having to investigate the suspects in Rick's 'murder'… she knew she'd be out of control.

Turning another corridor, she thought about Esposito and Ryan out at the cemetery. They were doing everything they could to make sure they caught the guy who shot Castle. But she knew that unless they got really lucky, this guy was going to be like Lockwood – invisible. And the longer it took to get any kind of evidence they could use to track him and his mysterious boss down, the harder it was going to be to find him.

And she desperately needed to find him, as he might be her last link to catching the man who'd ordered her mother's death and let the Captain sacrifice himself for her.

Just like Castle might have done…

She ruthlessly squashed that thought, unwilling to accept it as a possible outcome. He'd be fine, she told herself once again; because he had to be. She couldn't have finally realized just how much he meant to her, how mush she loved him just to lose him.

Pausing in the middle of a corridor, she swiveled her head back the way she'd come, think of heading back to the waiting room and she found herself frozen in place. The idea of going back to that little room made her balk. Being stuck in that room with nothing to do but face Rick's mortality wasn't something she thought she had the strength to do right now. Certainly Martha and Alexis would be fine without her, and Lanie would understand her needing some time alone.

Instead she continued along her original path, walking away from the surgical area and into the main hospital lobby. She found herself passing art work and donation plaques on the walls and seeing them just made her think about Rick even more. She stifled a laugh as she realized that she wouldn't be surprised to find his name somewhere in this hospital. More charitable contributions from the famous author, the 'white whale'…

Happy memories filled her mind at that thought, replacing the somber ones she'd been harboring. Thoughts of how she'd scoffed at landing the 'white whale'; how she'd downplayed his flirting and jokes as defensive maneuvers or part of his playboy personality. When in reality he'd been in earnest. Now, after three years of sticking with her through everything, through every 'empty' relationship she'd put up between them to protect herself, she'd finally admitted to herself that she'd needed what he offered her; the crazy theories, the unique vision, the completely loyal and undeniably charming man that was Richard Castle in her life.

And no other man would do.

Sighing heavily, she looked around and started to notice less people, and wondered why. Suddenly she realized she'd lost track of the time while she'd been on walkabout and headed back quickly to the waiting room. There she found that Ryan and Esposito had arrived while she was gone and were sitting with Lanie, Alexis and Martha. Everyone looked up at her arrival, eyes worried and questioning. With a glance up at the clock, she saw the reason for the quieting lobby and hallways and the questioning looks on her friends faces… she'd been gone over an hour without realizing it.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked Ryan and Esposito, her voice more shrill than she'd planned as she tried to deflect from her disappearance. "I thought you were going back to the precinct after the crime scene guys left."

"We've got three guys back at the precinct going through the databases looking for former associates and military buddies of Lockwood. But until what little physical evidence we do have gets processed, there wasn't anything more we could do there. And we wanted to check…" Esposito stated, trailing off at the look in Beckett's eye.

"On how Castle was doing," finished Ryan.

Beckett's posture shifted, her shoulders slumping and her eyes softening showing her understanding at their need to be there; they were his friends, his 'partners' too.

"I get it guys, I do. I just hope… well, we'll do what we can with what we have, right?"

"Exactly. We'll find them Kate. After what they did to the Captain, tried to do to you, and then Castle… there's no place in the city they can hide from us," Ryan stated confidently and Esposito nodded, backing up the plan.

She gave them both a small smile of thanks and moved to sit beside Lanie and Alexis. Martha reached over and patted Beckett's hand, and she turned to see the utter faith the woman had in her in her eyes. Overwhelmed at how Martha Rogers could have such belief in her to catch Rick's attempted killer, she turned her hand over and gripped Martha's hand in hers, demonstrating her thanks for the woman's reassurance.

"Have you guys heard anything while I was gone?" Beckett asked, realizing that they might have had some kind of news while she was out.

"Not really. It's only been a few hours," replied Lanie, her hand holding onto Javier's tightly.

"I guess I'd better settle in for the long haul then," Beckett said simply, even though the tome of her voice screamed worried once again.

The six of them waited for news, occasionally breaking the silence with whispered comments, trips to the restroom or to get more coffee. Beckett sat on pins and needles hoping for either the doctor to get in there and tell them Castle was okay or for either Ryan or Esposito's phones to ring with news from the lab. She almost gave up on staying put and asked them to take her back to the precinct to check on everything herself before that plan was derailed by the door opening.

"Family of Mr. Castle?" asked a tall African American man with glasses and a goatee that came through the door. His blue scrubs were discolored and everyone instantly was on alert.

"Yes…" announced Martha as she stood, Alexis coming along with her. "I'm his mother. This is his daughter and his…friends from the precinct."

"I'm Dr. Leyton. Your son is out of surgery."

At his simple pronouncement, there was an instant feeling of relief within every person in the room.

"How is he?" Alexis asked quickly, her blue eyes wide with the worry that had consumed her for hours.

"He's doing well and should make a full recovery."

Alexis broke in to a huge smile and turned to hug her grandmother tightly. Esposito hugged Lanie before giving Ryan a manly hug. In the chair Beckett sat, stunned and overwhelmed by the news.

He was going to be okay.

And with that realization she finally remembered that she was going to now have to address her words to him while he'd laid bleeding out beside her at the cemetery. But having been faced with life without him, she knew that she'd rather face his disbelief at her change of heart, address how she'd ended her relationship with Josh and how she wanted to try being with him in more than a professional way was preferable to the alternative.

"Can we see him?" asked Alexis anxiously, more than ready to finally see her father and assure herself he was going to be okay.

"There's a nurse at the station outside who can take the two of you to his room. They're just getting him settled in his room in the ICU from recovery. We need to keep the pressure off his repaired lung, so he'll have a chest tube for a day or so. We're keeping him sedated for the moment to keep him comfortable; those chest tubes aren't very fun. He won't be conscious for a good 24 hours but I'm certain you still want to see him."

"Absolutely… so the nurse is just outside?" Martha asked, wrapping an arm around Alexis' shoulders.

Dr. Layton nodded and watched as his patient's mother and daughter headed out the door. He turned back to the officers that were there, all of them in dress uniforms other than the one woman with them and smiled before he turned to leave.

As the doctor started towards the door, Beckett finally processed everything he'd said and then was moving to intercept him, questions flying through her head.

"Doctor, you said… he won't be awake for a full day?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes. So I would suggest that you see him and then go home and get some rest. We'll check him tomorrow at this time to see if removing the tube is advisable, based on his progress."

"Are you keeping him sedated just for his comfort?" Beckett questioned, not comfortable with

"We don't want him moving for a while and the sedation is the best, easiest way to do that."

"Why?"

"Officer…"

"Detective Kate Beckett, 12th precinct," she stated, her voice starting to take the hard edge it had when interrogating a suspect. "What were the full extents of his injuries that you're keeping him medicated for a full day?"

The doctor sighed and moved to adjust his glasses as the other officers, or detectives converged on him, looking for an answer. Considering they were in law enforcement and had more than likely seen their fair share of nasty situations, he didn't feel so worried about explaining in detail the medical concerns prompting his decision.

"We had to screw in a steel plate to what was left of his scapula to replace the part that the bullet shattered. We cleaned up the bone fragments that were causing internal bleeding and patched up his lung. He'll need physical therapy for the shoulder… but for right now… moving isn't going to feel very good, even on the best pain medications."

She nodded, thinking that all that invasive surgery to save his life would mean for a while he wouldn't be able to be out in the field with her. While she was beyond happy he was alive she was a little sad at the idea of being out there alone on the job, looking for the shooter and the man who'd ordered the attack.

"Thank you," she said, her voice registering her change in demeanor and it instantly registered with the surgeon.

"It's my job," he replied with a small smile. "I'm sure the nurse can direct you to his room, or you can follow the path of Mr. Castle's family."

She watched the doctor leave and turned to the others.

"Why don't you guys go and check in on him. I just… need a minute."

Ryan and Esposito nodded and headed out, while Lanie caught Beckett's hand in hers briefly, squeezing it lightly before she let it go and went to catch up with the guys.

She eased herself backwards into one of the chairs and lowered her head to her hands. Rick was alive. All the emotions she'd slammed behind the wall of control she'd thrown up after he'd fallen unconscious at the cemetery rushed up to engulf her, free of the fear she'd never have a chance to express them to him. Now all she had to do was face those emotions, express them to the man she loved and whom she believed loved her in return. She was finally ready to take that last step into the unknown… she found her one and done. After what were probably two missed attempts, she wasn't letting this third chance slip by her.

She wasn't afraid anymore.

Smiling at the thought, she pushed herself up from her seat and headed out of the waiting room. As she exited, she saw the woman behind the nurse's station counter and motioned to her about which way she needed to go as she asked, "Rick Castle?"

The woman in the pink scrubs smiled and pointed to her left and Becket quickly turned and started hurriedly heading towards his room, looking for her friends as she passed door after door.

"Kate?"

At the familiar voice, she turned to see Josh coming from the direction of the OR, his hands rubbing one another as he nervously moved to intercept her.

"On your way to see Castle?" he asked, coming up to stand beside her, but not trying to touch her at all.

"Yes. Josh… I…" she started, but broke off, unsure how to act with this man she'd been in such a sham relationship with and had finally given him the freedom he needed to find someone who would love him like he deserved.

"They didn't need me, but I observed. Layton is a fine surgeon and Castle will be fine, given some time."

"Thank you again."

"I was just doing my job… I save people for a living, right?"

She nodded, recognizing again the precarious position she'd put him in. But she had needed a guarantee that Rick would come back to her, to his family and the 12th. She owed him more than just her thanks for looking out for Castle for her, yet at the same time she wasn't sure he wanted to even breathe the same air as her, what with how she'd 'dumped' him for another man… one she'd sworn up and down wasn't a threat to him.

"I wouldn't begrudge you being pissed at me for how I ended things…" she remarked with a regretful tone, recalling the scene in the hallway of the hospital he worked at every day only hours earlier.

He gave her a grimace that he wiped away with a hand before looking at her with soulful, pained eyes.

"I always knew he knew more of you than I did. I thought that over time that would change in my favor," he said softly as he reached over and brushed his fingers gently across her face. "But really… I was always going to lose."

"Josh…"

"No Kate, I understand. I wish things were different but…" he said before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "I know you trust him, love him and that he makes you happy… and that's all I ever wanted for you. Take care of yourself."

With that he turned and walked away, leaving Beckett feeling drained and vulnerable… and she had yet to see Rick. She swallowed thickly and continued on her way to Castle's room, her emotional walls a pile of rubble at her feet. Finally she found Esposito, Lanie and Ryan near the doorway to what had to be Castle's room, Alexis and Martha no doubt installed inside.

"How's he doing?" she asked as she stopped at the doorway, not sure if she was ready to see him hooked up to machines and sedated, yet needing to see him alive just as badly.

"He doesn't look too bad," replied Esposito with a sly grin that said he'd seen his friend look better.

As Beckett passed her partners and friends to enter the room fully, she found her eyes drawn to the figure on the bed that looked so much unlike Richard Castle that she was almost prompted to turn around and ask the nurse for the right room. Yet if she looked closely, she saw the boyish good looks and tousled hair that she couldn't help but smile at seeing. And the fact that he was breathing, was alive was so much more than she could have believed she'd be lucky enough to get.

With that, she moved towards the bed and took the seat that Alexis was suddenly vacating, letting her sit and take his left hand in hers, his hand feeling solid and real in hers. And wit the relief that simple touch instilled in her she felt the tears she'd fought since he'd been shot break loose; her eyes welling with them as they finally fell.

End Chapter 3

Thanks again for reading everyone. Last chapter will have the Caskett payoff you're waiting for as well as some other resolutions… but for the anti-Josh readers, this is the last you'll see of him, I promise.


	4. Four is the Magic Number

5/26/2011

All previous warnings, disclaimers and ratings still apply.

Author's note: Here's the final chapter. Thank you all again for indulging me in getting this story out there. Hopefully my Castle muse is now sated.

-x-

Chapter 4

Beckett swiped at the rivulets running down her face even as she recognized the relief within herself that had permitted them to finally fall. She ducked her head, not really being comfortable with crying in front of everyone, as she let the hand not holding onto Castle clear them away.

When she felt that she'd erased the majority of the traces, she swiveled her head to look back at her friends and colleagues. They'd all been through so much over the last few days, and this on top of it was more than likely the final straw. Now, having seen Castle and been told that he would pull through, she couldn't fault them for the way they were standing, partially out the door with Esposito's mouth beginning to open to say something that she knew was going to be how they were ready to go home, decompress and get something to eat and sleep. And that she should too…

"We're gonna head out. We'll check on him tomorrow if that's all right?" Esposito asked Martha, and she nodded. "Beckett, you staying?"

She gave him a look that made him raise his hands in apology and defense. Obviously he should have known better. She'd been waiting for hours, worried for that she'd never see him alive again, so leaving right now wasn't on her radar at all.

Once the others had said their goodbyes, Beckett found herself now alone in the room with Alexis and Martha, the mother and daughter of the man she loved and thought of the symmetry; the three women in his life surrounding him while he slept on. She looked to where Martha sat with Alexis standing behind her on the opposite side of Rick's bed, unsure of what to do next.

"When he wakes up, he's going to be worried about you two at home alone while he's stuck here recuperating," Beckett remarked, thinking to how when the city was facing a dirty bomb Castle had done everything possible without telling them the truth to get his mother and daughter out of the city.

"We can manage by ourselves just fine. Its going to be wrangling him that will be the challenge," replied Martha with a grin as she looked at her son's sleeping form

"I can't imagine him sitting still voluntarily for any length of time, even to heal up," Beckett stated with a slightly amused grin.

"Well, there was that one time Dad broke his leg skiing where he was in a cast for over a month. It was a pain to move around so he stayed home a lot," Alexis stated with a small smile. Obviously seeing him breathing, even still asleep had eased the teen's fears.

"He was rather dismayed at being on crutches, but detective, he does lock himself away in his study when he's writing," Martha noted, and Beckett had to concede the point.

In fact, she could probably count on one hand the number of times she'd seen him actually writing. Since he was out with her on cases during the day, and sometimes even into the evening, she had to guess that he did a lot of it late at night. She wondered how much sleep he got…

She shrugged and went back to looking at the sleeping Rick, sedated and unaware of the audience he had or the fact that she was counting down the hours until the sedation would wear off. She knew he was going to be okay; she had his hand in hers, but until she saw his eyes and heard his voice, she wouldn't be… right.

On the other side of the bed Martha stretched and then got out of her chair, patting Alexis' shoulder.

"Are you two going home?" Beckett asked, surprised that his mother and daughter would leave him at all, let alone what she felt was so soon after they'd been allowed to see him.

"It seems a lot more comfortable than the alternative." Martha remarked, tapping the side of the plastic chair that she had been sitting in. "What with Richard out for the count, there's not much more to do other than come back tomorrow when he'll be awake. How about you detective? I bet a shower, some fresh clothes and some sleep would do wonders for your mood."

"And food," chimed in Alexis. "Dad's always talking about him dragging you away from work to make sure you eat. He probably would say you run on coffee or something."

She fought the laugh the remark sparked in her as she recalled many a meal break instigated by him over the years. Beckett had always thought it was because he was hungry, but it seemed he wanted to make sure she was eating. At that thought, she glanced back at Castle's still face and then over at Alexis and Martha.

She found herself torn once again, between staying by his side or going home for a shower and food. Even the idea of some sleep was starting to sound good. Maybe if she went home she could get up in the morning and swing by the precinct before she returned to the hospital. If she did, there might be chance the results for some of the lab work might be done…

And, she admitted to herself, they were right that Rick wasn't waking up any time soon having been medically sedated. As long as she was back by mid morning, noon at the latest she'd be fine... she would be there when he woke up, which was the most important thing.

"You're probably right," she replied as she slowly rose from her chair, and then squeezed Castle's hand gently one last time before she let go and followed Alexis and Martha out of the room, through the hospital and to the street.

"We'll see you sometime tomorrow. Take care," Martha said with a quick hug before she moved to the curb to flag down a cab in the evening light.

"You too," replied Beckett before getting a full on Alexis hug before the teen turned and climbed into a cab her grandmother had already gotten into and closed the door.

As they drove off, Beckett pondered one last time if she should go back in, sleep in the chair beside Castle. But she could hear his voice in her head telling her not to be stupid; she'd function much better after sleeping in her own bed.

Catching her own ride home, she finally arrived at her apartment. Once inside she found that she really was exhausted and went about starting some water on the stove for tea while she rummaged in the refrigerator for some leftovers. Finding a Chinese takeout container she popped it in the microwave to heat and went into her bedroom to strip out of the stained and rumpled uniform; pulling her badge from its place on the shirt, tossing the clothes in the hamper and her badge on her end table. After slipping into some sweats and a t-shirt and pulling her hair into a pony tail, she had to admit that she did feel more human than she had since… the shooting. She heard the whistle of the tea kettle and padded into the kitchen and made herself tea and ate her warmed up food. As soon as she'd eaten she felt the siren call of her mattress and let herself be drawn to the room. Sliding under the covers her mind once again went to Castle at the hospital, but she reminded herself once again that he was on the road to recovery and once he was awake, she could finally have an honest discussion with him on how she wasn't willing to ignore what they had anymore.

What was probably the shortest six and a half hours later, Beckett woke to her daily alarm and slammed her hand down on it with a grimace. She scrubbed her face with her hand before she realized it was less than 12 hours before Rick would be awake, prompting her to throw back the covers with more enthusiasm than usual as she went through her morning routine: shower, dressing and breakfast before she headed out to the precinct.

When she arrived there she checked her e-mail for any news from the lab as well as her office phone and her cell, again. While the lab was still processing what they had, she did find a large stack of files and research that had been done on the Lockwood angle. Beckett dove into them, spending her morning hours reviewing the files of Lockwood's known associates, former military friends and professional colleagues. Sometime during that period she'd seen Esposito and Ryan come in, check their own e-mail accounts and start working. At one point she thought they went past her, but she was too busy to notice.

"Beckett, what are you doing here? It's nearly noon?" asked Esposito as he and Ryan came back in from an early lunch.

"What?" she replied, looking at her watch as she realized the time, "Shit! I'm heading to the hospital. I can tell Castle you two will be by later?"

"Of course. We'll catch you later," announced Ryan as he and his partner went back to their desks.

Dragging the files and material she had yet to review with her, Beckett headed over to the hospital, deciding that if he wasn't awake yet, at least she'd be in the same room with him while she finished going through the materials she had.

Once she arrived at Mt. Sinai, she made her way through the main lobby this time and slowly found her way back to his room. Finding him still asleep but looking markedly better; she noted they must have removed his chest tube sometime before she arrived and his right arm was in a sling, more than likely to keep pressure off his shoulder. She moved to brush a hand over his unruly hair and pressed a light kiss to his temple before she pulled over one of the two chairs in the room and camped out in it at his side, her hand within easy reaching distance of his.

With silence except for the beeping monitors surrounding her, she turned her focus back onto the files. Every once in a while she would look up to check on him, or when the occasional nurse or doctor checked in on Castle. So she was once again studiously reviewing any connections to the case files in her hands with the mysterious boss who was the instigator of so many heartaches in her life when the man in the bed started to open his eyes.

As Castle struggled back to consciousness he took in the fact that he was sitting slightly up – not his normal sleeping arrangement, and then heard the beeping of the machines monitoring him and the pieces all started falling into place… the shooting at the cemetery. Slowly he turned his head and saw the familiar shape of the person he was probably stuck in this bed for beside him, head down and eyes glued to the file in her hands. He smiled as he watched her before he realized that he desperately needed to see her looking at him instead of the file.

"Hey," said his roughened voice from the bed beside her, and Beckett's head jolted up from where she'd been so focused on the files she had in her lap, the one in her hands nearly falling from her fingers.

"Rick… Castle, how are you feeling? I'll call the nurse," she said quickly, her body twisting in the chair to dump the files in the seat as she got up to get closer to him as she reached for the call button to get the nurse in.

"Like I got shot."

He smiled again at her and she couldn't help but smile too. Turning the fear and pain into a joke; how like him… He raised his hand up towards her and she instantly took it, feeling better just at the sound of his voice and the return of his sense of humor.

"Seriously," she said, her hand tightening on his, and she felt her heart skitter in her chest as he gripped her hand back just as hard; his eyes never leaving hers.

"I can't feel much of anything, at least not in regards to the pain," he remarked honestly, no joke in sight.

"From what Dr. Layton said last night that's probably for the best right now," she said simply, her heart thundering in her ears as she gathered her courage and forged ahead with talking to him about what she wanted and how she felt… "Look, Castle… Rick, about what happened at the Captain's funeral, I…"

Before she could continue she was interrupted by a knock at the door and they turned to look as the door opened.

"I see that you're awake now Mr. Castle," said a nurse as she entered the room and walked over to his bedside. "I'll just check a few things. The doctor will be in shortly to make sure you're progressing as expected."

After finishing checking his vitals and IV, the nurse left leaving the two of them alone once again. In the returned silence, the room seemed to be smaller somehow and Beckett started to feel anxious. She was certain Castle loved her back… there were too many moments, too many signs that pointed to that. But what if he'd changed his mind? What if being shot and nearly dying for her crusade was the final straw for him? He'd begged her to back off, because he didn't want to watch her die; yet he'd taken a bullet for her to keep her alive. Could she really expect him not to be angry at her for putting herself at risk just to get him shot? Her eyes roamed anywhere that wasn't his face as doubt began to assail her mind.

"Kate," Castle began, squeezing her hand rhythmically to get her attention. When her eyes came back to his, she saw that serious expression that she remembered here and there… sitting on the couch in the LA suite, standing in her home as he talked about not knowing what they were… "I heard you, you know… before I passed out…"

He paused a moment as her eyes widened. She'd hoped he'd heard her, but facing the moment of truth she was still a little apprehensive of what his reaction would be.

"Castle, I…"

"No Kate, I'm glad you said it," he said, his voice hushed and more serious than she'd ever heard it before. "If it had been you on the ground with the bullet in your chest, I would have told you the truth too. I would have told you I loved you and asked you not to leave me."

Beckett felt a thousand emotions at once, and as they rushed through her she felt her lips curve and bloom into an elated smile and the contentment she felt showed on her face. He loved her. With that one single thought filling her head she impulsively lunged forward and kissed him on the lips, startling a sound from Castle before he started kissing her back. The angle was awkward with their hands still clasped together and his position on the bed, so she eased back, wanting to see the look on his face and nearly started laughing at the smug, self satisfied grin that graced it.

"It took you long enough. Here I was starting to think I was going to have to wait until I was out of the hospital for one of those Beckett kisses."

She glared at him but couldn't stay mad. It had been months since they'd shared that kiss that wasn't a kiss and the memory of it still made her stomach flip. Still, she'd needed to make sure that he was in this as much as she was before she did anything like instigate another kiss with Castle. But now that they'd put all their cards on the table, she had no intention of letting anything stand in the way of her kissing him as often as humanly possible… within reason of course, she doubted making out in the middle of the bullpen was a wise career move, and the way he was looking at her now said he fully agreed with her on that.

"Would you have wanted me to attack you once you woke up? I didn't even know if you would remember what I'd said, or if you had heard it. You know we've always had bad timing."

"I don't know. Maybe this was what needed to happen to get us to this point. Maybe the stars finally aligned. Maybe Montgomery's upstairs pulling some strings, maybe we finally listened not only to our hearts but to everyone around us telling us we were idiots for denying it and that we shouldn't waste any more time," he stated, making her smile at him.

"I do love you Rick. I have for a while, I just…" she began, feeling vulnerable at having to admit he was right about something as fundamental as her own self.

"What?"

"Was afraid. And I was hiding in one of those relationships with a man I didn't love."

That brought Castle up short. He'd forgotten about Dr. Motorcycle boy… the last time he'd talked with her they were still together. But she was here, telling him she loved him, kissing him…

"So, what about Josh?"

"I spoke to him already… told him… well, I told him I couldn't lose you," she told him with some difficulty at the memory of where her head was in that moment.

"So you guys…" he prompted.

"Are done," she said firmly, her eyes locking on his.

His eyebrows rose as he considered the scene of how that must have played out. The laid back, handsome, world-traveling, life-saving, philanthropist doctor having Kate tell him she was discarding him for her quirky, famous writer-partner probably had gone over like a lead balloon.

"Did he take it okay?"

Beckett smiled and fought a laugh; surprised Rick would care how Josh was after she'd taken his heart and stomped on it. But for the most part he'd never been overtly mean spirited towards her… boyfriends. And with the idea that there weren't going to be any more other than him, she thought maybe he was willing to be generous.

"He took it as well as any man could that they'd been dumped for someone else," she replied, her smile and her eyes telling him that she was one hundred percent his.

"I can't say I'm unhappy about that turn of events," he responded with a stunning and mischievous grin. "But the fact I'm in here when I'd rather be home where I could take you to dinner or a movie or the theatre or even work a case with you just sucks."

She did finally laugh at that, reaching over to cup his cheek before kissing him again. He reciprocated in kind and they pleasantly and passionately kissed for what seemed long minutes before there was a knock on the door, prompting them to split apart. Nervously Beckett wiped a hand over her lips as she turned to the door, it opening to reveal his doctor.

"Mr. Castle, I'm Dr. Layton. I did your surgery yesterday," the man said, coming over to the bedside and starting to take his pulse. "We took the chest tube out early this morning so when the pain meds start to wear off, you may be more than slightly uncomfortable. As well the injury to your upper shoulder area will more than likely require some physical therapy. Once you're ready to leave we'll recommend a course of treatment. Other than that, you look to make a full recovery."

"How soon can I get out of here?"

The doctor looked surprised at the man's eagerness to leave. He'd had major surgery, could have died and was on heavy pain medication and he already wanted to know when he would be discharged?

"Sorry doctor," interjected Beckett, "he's always like this… a bit too anxious for his own good. Sort of like a big puppy, you know?"

Castle gave her a look but couldn't completely discount her characterization. As the doctor looked from her back to his patient, Castle simply shrugged his shoulders and winced as the right one barely moved before he felt pain.

"I can see you realize it's going to be several more days before I can release you and weeks before you're healed. I need to be going, but I'll check back on you later this evening. And it looks like you have more visitors," said Dr. Layton on his way out the door as Alexis and Martha came in, the younger bounding towards her awake father.

"Dad!"

"Hey there sweetheart," Castle said, moving to catch his daughter as she launched towards him with his left arm. Martha walked in behind her granddaughter and smiled at her son and detective Beckett. She had always known it had only been a matter of time…

"Richard, darling," said Martha with affection and some worry as she reached over to touch his face, "how ya feeling kiddo?"

"Been better. What do you have there mother?" he asked with a grin before kissing her proffered cheek.

She looked from her son to the large manila envelope in her other hand that had shown up during that afternoon's mail delivery. It looked important, but with no return address, it had seemed… out of place. So she'd brought it with her for him to review.

"It came in today's mail Richard. There wasn't any return address and it seemed… strange."

Which is was he thought himself as he looked at the shape and size of the package. Any manuscripts would have come from his publisher. And unwanted mail was not going to show up at his home address, which wasn't public knowledge.

"Sweetheart," Castle said, prompting Alexis to climb out of his bed and move to the side.

Reaching out, Rick took the manila envelope and eyed the looping script of his name and address. A block of stamps decorated the upper right corner and he frowned at it. Turning it over in his hand, he pondered how to open it as his right hand and arm weren't much use right now.

"Kate, can you?" he asked, stretching the envelope out to her.

She took the envelope from him and flipped it over so she could slide her finger into the seam at the flap. Once it was open she slid her hand in and grabbed a hold of the items inside.

"Oh my God…" she swore as she slid four police files and a folder piece of paper with his name on it from the package.

Rick leaned forward slightly at her curse before he grimaced and settled back against the pillow. She handed him the paper which he quickly unfolded with one hand and while she focused on the files. It was only after he'd shaken the paper open that he realized what he had in his hand.

"This letter is from Montgomery…" he breathed and looked up to catch Beckett's eyes as she understood that writing the letter and sending it with the files to Castle was more than likely one of the last things he'd done before… Then Castle started reading aloud:

"_Castle,_

_I figure that they'll be watching Beckett's mail, as well as the guys and the station house. What they might overlook is mail coming to you. I'm enclosing the four files you need to take down the son of a bitch responsible for everything. I have no doubts that you'll do the right thing with this information, and keep Kate alive. Take care of her._

_Roy"_

"He…" Beckett started; her emotions conflicted between anger and sadness.

"Gave us everything we need to either bring them to justice..."

"Or take revenge into our own hands," she countered and she saw the look in Rick's eyes as she said that, could almost feel the fear and disapproval from where he sat feet away from her. But she knew whatever she chose, he'd be with her through it… he'd said always and she knew he meant it. "If we expose them, use the evidence we have… they could drag others through the mud with them."

"But if we just track them down and execute them Kate, we're just as bad as they are," Castle pointed out, dropping the letter on the sheets of the hospital bed and reached over to catch one of Beckett's hands.

She looked at his hand in hers and then glanced at Alexis and Martha. What kind of person would she be if she murdered them; she'd be just as guilty as they were. And what kind of person would want their father and son to be with a person like that? Lanie, Javier and Kevin would all back her, but again, she wanted to be someone they could respect and cared about. Becoming a cold blooded killer, even to revenge her mother, Montgomery and in some respects herself and Castle wouldn't bring them back.

But finding a way to bring them to justice; forcing them to stand and be made accountable in the eyes of the law and society would be honorable. Her mother and the Captain would respect that decision. They just had to make sure Montgomery's name never came up.

"No, we have what we need now to find them. We just need to investigate them and get the evidence we need to send them away for a very long time. It's what everyone would have wanted," she replied and Rick squeezed her hand as he smiled at her.

"So detective," asked Alexis from where she stood on the other side of the bed, watching her dad and Kate together, so obviously together now it was painful. "When are you moving in?"

Kate and Rick looked at one another and laughed. There was a long road ahead for both of them, but at least they knew it was one they would be traveling together.

-End-

Thank you everyone for reading! This was an enjoyable experience for me and I appreciated all your support. Ms. J.


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